Light therapy (i.e., “phototherapy”), using various types of light, has been used or proposed for use in a number of cosmetic and therapeutic applications, including but not necessarily limited to improvement of skin elasticity, deterrence of skin aging, treatment of dermatological disorders (e.g., acne, psoriasis), healing of wounds, treatment of jaundice in newborns, and treatment of certain psychological conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and certain sleep disorders. In some applications, light therapy is used alone while in others it is used in combination with drugs or agents (e.g., photo-sensitizing agents, photo-activating agents, agents which reduce skin opacity or improve light penetration through or into the skin, etc.). In some forms of light therapy, the subject is positioned in or near a device called a light therapy box. In other forms of light therapy, a light emitting device is positioned on or near a particular are of the body to be treated.
One example of a light emitting device that is positionable on or near a particular are of the body to be treated is described in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0144724 (Benedict) entitled Portable Phototherapy Device and Method for Using a Portable Phototherapy Device, a copy of which is appended to and forms a portion of U.S. Provisional patent Application No. 61/557,319, to which this application claims priority. The entire disclosure of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0144724 (Benedict) is also expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Light emitting phototherapy devices of the prior art have not been optimal for all potential applications. For example, at least some light emitting phototherapy devices of the prior art have lacked sufficient flexibility characteristics to allow them to be formed by had into various alternative shapes (e.g., including shapes that have tight radii of curvature and/or complex curvatures) without damaging the device and/or have required the use of a strap or other shape-retaining apparatus to hold the device in a desired shape during use. In general, this lack of formability can result in some or all of the light emitters of the device being positioned at non-optimal distances from the affected body surface during treatment. The development of new light emitting phototherapy devices having improved or different formability may improve the potential efficacy of the phototherapy provided by enabling the device to be pre-formed to a shape that causes many or all of the light emitters on the device to be within a therapeutically optimal distance from the affected body surface.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for the development of new or modified phototherapy devices that incorporate modifications and improvements which render them advantageous over the prior art.